By Cathy Barrow
Apricots can disappoint you. What looks pretty and promising, all orange and plump, is all too often mealy or hard, tasteless or mushy. Cook them, though, and the fruits deliver, with zesty, tart and tangy flavour.
The fruit is climacteric, meaning it can ripen on or off the tree. Most trees in commercial orchards will be completely stripped during harvest, with most of the apricots at peak ripeness, some under-ripe and some overripe. For this recipe, look for slightly under-ripe fruit that gives only slightly when gently squeezed. The fruit should be not at all green and should have a sweet scent. Apricots that have passed their peak will not work well at all.
Canning them in syrup is simpler than you think, but it’s not without a few challenges. Selection of fruit is critical, as is packing the jars. Stacking the apricot halves takes finesse. Work quickly to avoid bruising. Layer them like spoons, resting inside one another, one after the other, spiralling as you fill the jars; repack as needed.
Make sure to eliminate air bubbles by carefully running a plastic knife or chopstick around the inside of the jar. Air bubbles might cause the liquid to burble up during processing, siphoning out of the jar and compromising the seal.
Apricot halves can be preserved in water, in no-sugar-added white grape juice or apple juice, or in a simple syrup. Depending on the fruit’s natural sweetness, make a syrup that is light (barely any sugar), heavy (equal parts water and sugar) or somewhere in between. The only way to know how sweet the syrup should be is to taste the fruit before you start. In many cases, a sweeter syrup improves very tart apricots, making them taste more apricot-y.
After processing, if the fruit floats at the top of the liquid in the jar, do not despair. That is called fruit float, and it happens. There’s no safety issue; apricots floating above the liquid might discolour over time, but they’ll still be edible.
These apricots in syrup are divine in the depths of winter. Spoon a few into yogurt. Arrange them over pastry creme on a tart. Put a single apricot half on a cracker, top with a knob of oozy Saint-Andre cheese, add a dash of cracked black pepper and call it an amuse-bouche. They’re almost too good to share. Almost.
Apricots in Syrup
12 servings
Fruit Fresh is a widely available product that retards the browning of fresh fruit and vegetables.
You will need a candy thermometer. You’ll need 3 sanitized pint jars with new lids and rings, and a jar lifter or coated tongs.
MAKE AHEAD: The canned apricots can be stored in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.
Ingredients
1 3/4 cups plus 1 quart water
1 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean or 3 fresh peeled ginger root coins or 3 wide lemon zest strips (optional)
1 tablespoon Fruit Fresh (may substitute juice of 3 lemons)
3 pounds (about 18 total) medium apricots
Steps
To make the syrup, combine the 1 3/4 cups water and the sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Add one of the optional flavourings, if desired. Turn off the heat and cover.
To keep the fruit from browning as you prepare it, combine the remaining 1 quart of cool water and the Fruit Fresh in a large bowl. Stir to dissolve. Cut the apricots in half, using the dimple as a guide; pop out the pit and drop the halves into the acidulated water. Cut away any brown spots or rotten places.
Line up the sanitised jars. Tuck the apricots into the jars, skin side down, nestling them together like spoons. About 12 halves will fit in each jar. It will take some finesse to pack the jars well. Unpack and repack as needed.
Remove the optional flavourings from the syrup; reserve them as possible jar garnishes. Snip the vanilla bean half, if using, into 3 pieces.
Return the syrup to a boil; pour it over the fruit, leaving 1/2 inch of head space. Run a chopstick or flat plastic knife along the inside of each jar and (gently) around the fruit to dislodge any air bubbles. Add the garnishes, if desired. Make adjustments as needed to maintain the 1/2-inch head space.
Clean the rim of each jar. Top with the warmed lids, and finger-tighten the rings (not too much). Process in the boiling water bath for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the jars in the water bath for 10 minutes. Use the jar lifter to transfer the jars to a clean, folded dish towel to cool for several hours.
Label and date the sealed jars. Store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.
NOTES: Halved apricots may be preserved in plain water, apple juice, white grape juice or a sugar syrup using as little as 1/4 cup or as much as 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar.
Water-bath canning safely seals high-acid, low-pH foods in jars. The time for processing in the water bath is calculated based on the size of the jar and the consistency and density of the food. For safety’s sake, do not alter the jar size, ingredients, ratios or processing time in any canning recipe. If moved to change any of those factors, simply put the prepared food in the refrigerator and eat within a week.
Fill a large canning kettle or deep stockpot two-thirds full with water. To keep the jars from rattling against the pot, place a rack in the pot. (A cake rack works well; a folded dish towel is equally effective.) Sanitise the jars in a short dishwasher cycle or by boiling them in a canning kettle or pot for 10 minutes. Fill a small saucepan with water and add the rings. Bring to a boil over high heat, slip in the lids and turn off the heat.
Use a jar lifter or tongs to lower the filled, sealed jars into the boiling water bath, keeping them upright. When all of the jars are in place, the water should be 1 to 2 inches above the jar tops. Add water as needed. Bring the water to a low boil before starting the timer for processing.
At the end of processing, turn off the heat and let the jars sit in the water bath until the boiling has stopped. That will reduce siphoning, in which the food burbles up under the lid, breaking the seal. Use the jar lifter or tongs to transfer the jars to a folded towel, keeping them upright. Leave the jars until they have completely cooled, at least 12 hours. Remove the rings and test the seal by lifting each jar by the lid. The lid should hold fast. Label and store in a cool, dry, dark space. Ingredients are too variable for a meaningful analysis.
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